Category: Thankful Thursday

I have often berated you for all the things I thought you did wrong in raising me. Since our relationship over the years has fluctuated between close and very distant, it has been easy to find fault with your decisions. I have made it very clear that I was not happy. But as we have our space from each other again (and we both know that the quality of our relationship has been in inverse proportion to how close we live to each other), I am coming to see just how many things you did right for me. I keep hearing myself saying, “Oh, my mom taught me …” and I am seeing now just how ungrateful I have been. Continue reading “Open letter to my mom {Thankful Thursday}”

Last century, I gave birth to a beautiful baby girl. Before she was 10 minutes old, she uttered her first word. No! That has been the theme of our relationship ever since. She has been a very strong-willed child her whole life. She knows what she wants, and she doesn’t let little things like reality get in the way. Continue reading “Strong willed children {Thankful Thursday}”

This is Christmastide, specifically, the fourth day of Christmas. No, today, I did not receive four Calling birds, three french hens, two turtle doves, or a partridge in a pear tree. We did have a delivery of heating oil, time to knit a mitten, a new rear suspension in the car, and breakfast made by R. I highly doubt those will repeat daily for the next week. I certainly hope not. For many things, once is nice, more than that is too much. Continue reading “Christmastide {Thankful Thursday}”

Today I struggled with coming up with a topic for today’s post. I started my day by opening up a bill in excess of $1000 that I was totally not expecting. That put me in a sour mood, so I put off writing. I wanted an authentic gratitude post, not one that felt forced. I went about my day, washing dishes, knitting a Christmas present, supervising kids after school, and then attending E’s and A’s school concert. Eventually, I realized that my inspiration for today was that my son is a very kind-hearted and generous boy. Continue reading “My son’s tender heart {Thankful Thursday}”

I love this exercise of finding something each week to be deeply grateful for. I try every day to be thankful for something, but to write an entire blog post every week about a blessing is a welcome challenge. At first, I wanted to find crazy things for my focus, but then I shifted to just being grateful for the good things in my life. Today, I want to be thankful for something that could be considered tragic. I am grateful today for the lessons from my two dysfunctional marriages. Continue reading “Toxic relationships {Thankful Thursday}”

When I first started Thankful Thursday on my blog, I never gave thought to the fact that Thanksgiving is the ultimate Thankful Thursday. I did not write my post ahead of time, and I have just come back from a delightful day with my in-laws. Today I am thankful for my family – my family of origin, my family by marriage, and my family by choice. Continue reading “Thankful for family {Thankful Thursday}”

Election Day in the US was two days ago. That day we chose our fate. Some are elated, and some are grief stricken. We are a divided nation and the Us versus Them rhetoric has never been stronger. Now it is time to pick up the pieces of our lives that we put on hold as we waited with bated breath to learn the outcome of this election season. I am so glad the campaigning and mud-slinging and agonizing waiting is over. Continue reading “Election campaigning is over {Thankful Thursday}”

I live in a wonderful place. I feel blessed to live in New England, and although there are many places I would like to visit, there is no place I would rather live than here. Especially the Connecticut River Valley where it cuts through the Appalachian Mountains. Technically, I live in the foothills of the mountains, and it is a very wonderful place to live. Cheshire County will always be the home of my heart. Continue reading “Cheshire County, NH {Thankful Thursday}”

This is a post that I have been writing for some time now. I wanted to write it, but I worried that it might be too painful for my friends and readers who are not as fortunate in this area of life as I am. I decided that I am going to go ahead and publish it now because it is a gratitude that I carry every day. If I always wait for a better time, it will never be done. Therefore, today I am so very grateful for my husband. I know that sounds corny and cliché, but I am. I haven’t always had a great marriage, as I alluded to in a previous post. Having had two disastrous marriages has made me really appreciate a healthy relationship. And so I want to celebrate my husband today. Continue reading “Celebrating my husband {Thankful Thursday}”